In-the-ear hearing aid devices (ITE) generally have a vent, which creates a passage through the hearing aid device from the housing side (faceplate) facing away from the eardrum when the hearing aid device is in position to the housing side facing the eardrum. This serves to ventilate the volume of the auditory canal enclosed by the hearing aid device, brings about barometric pressure equalization for said volume and reduces the occlusion effect.
Hearing aid devices, in particular in-the-ear hearing aid devices, can become contaminated with ear wax (cerumen). With ITEs the cerumen penetrates into the sound outlet aperture of the hearing aid device and blocks the sound canal between the hearing aid device speaker, also referred to as the earpiece or receiver, and the sound outlet aperture. This leads to a number of problems, from acoustic impairment to the hearing aid device becoming unusable.
There have been a number of approaches with ITEs to date to prevent the ingress of cerumen. Cap or yoke-type protection systems are generally used, which can be configured either as part of the hearing aid device housing (see DE 38 02 250 C1 or U.S. Pat. No. 5,327,500) or as an insert or cover in the sound canal or on the hearing aid device (see U.S. Pat. No. 5,327,500 or EP 0 312 517 A2). Cerumen protection systems which narrow the sound canal are also known, in some instances having lattice or cavity-type barriers and being intended for insertion into the sound canal or positioning on a nozzle (see U.S. Pat. No. 4,972,488; U.S. Pat. No. 5,970,157; WO 00/03561 or DE 36 16 648 A1).
Cleaning such cerumen protection systems is a major problem. In many instances the cerumen protection system has to be replaced from time to time, which means that elderly hearing aid device wearers have to visit the acoustician, which is often problematic. Cerumen protection systems have therefore been repeatedly proposed, which are configured as porous or non-porous (gas-tight) membranes (see EP 310 866 A1; DE 196 40 796 A1 or U.S. Pat. No. 6,164,409) and cover the sound outlet aperture. This largely prevents the ingress of cerumen. Such membranes are also easier to clean than other cerumen protection systems. But it also has to be as simple as possible to replace these when damaged. They cannot therefore be permanently integrated.
Cover-type cerumen protection systems have ultimately not been successful because of the additional space they take up. And the insertable cerumen protection systems used to date generally have the disadvantage of reducing the acoustically active cross-section of the sound canal, which can have acoustic disadvantages.
Gas-tight membranes essentially offer the greatest protection but require the use of modified earpieces to ensure barometric pressure equalization. The associated outlet on the outside of the device (faceplate) also takes up corresponding additional space. It must also be ensured that the cerumen protection system is connected reliably to the sound canal and forms a tight seal therewith. Until now this has generally been achieved, in the case of a cerumen protection system that can be inserted into the sound canal, by a thickening close to the sound canal, which is configured as a flange or barb or has other elements such as studs, knobs, etc.
An earpiece support, with a sound tube between a sound outlet aperture of the earpiece and a holder in the hearing aid device housing, is known from US 2005/0074138 A1.
A hearing aid device according to the preamble of claim 1 is known from U.S. Pat. No. 6,164,409. It is a disadvantage of the known hearing aid device that a modified earpiece is required to ensure barometric pressure equalization.